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When we come to God in prayer, we should do so with a quiet confidence that
God can hear us and in His own special way our prayer will be answered. We
must remember that God is able to do the impossible so our prayers should
not be prayed with timidity, but rather with a strong knowing that God has
been and will always be faithful to those who love Him. The Bible declares
in Isaiah 59:1 “Behold, the LORD’S Hand is not shortened, that it cannot
save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear.” We are to come boldly
to the throne of grace knowing that He is our Deliverer, our Healer, our
Redeemer, and a Friend that sticks closer than a brother. (Hebrews 4:16)
The Lord is all we need and as long as He is with us, our hearts can rest
easy knowing that no evil can come nigh our dwelling. The Lord is good and
merciful. He is slow to get angry and He is of great kindness. Always
remember that you can come to God in prayer no matter what you have done
wrong in the past. Simply repent of your sins and ask God to forgive you.
He will cleanse you and make you a new creation in Him. Believe this truth
and you will be set free. (Psalm 91:9-11) (Joel 2:13) (Romans 10:8-13)
I hope you are encouraged and challenged by today's message to come to God
in prayer when you are in need of reassurance. He has promised that as
long as we depend on Him, we will not be forgotten nor forsaken. Always
remember that God loves you greatly.
SEND ME A FRIEND
I had just been through great amounts of loss in my life. I lost an old
friend, my sister, my father, and my health. I was now housebound due to my
illness; I sat alone wondering, what's next?
Not long after this, my friend Sue told me that her husband was offered a
new job in another state and they would be moving...soon.
Sue and I had been friends through thick and thin since the fifth grade,
and I would be missing our regular visits together greatly.
I had other friends, but I seldom talked with them anymore. As they lived
very hectic lives, I really desired a close friend.
So a little over a year ago, I set my face like flint to pray and ask God
to, “Send me a friend.” I thought this was an impossible request, since I
couldn't get out to meet anyone, but regardless of these circumstances, I
continued to pray. I recorded these prayers in my prayer journal.
One evening my stepdaughter and her soon-to-be fiancé stopped by. As we sat
and talked, oddly, Michael mentioned the name of my old departed friend,
Patrea. He said, “She was good friends with my mother, Bonnie.” Instantly,
I remembered meeting his mother at a prayer meeting I had attended at
Patrea's house several years ago. When my stepdaughter got knowledge of
this, she started working behind the scenes to reunite us. (She had no idea
of my prayer request).
In the meantime, Bonnie was praying for a new friend. She had also suffered
some losses of friendship. She was lonely too, and in desperate need of a
friend. She was praying, “Send me a friend.”
When Bonnie heard that we had been mutual friends with Patrea, it instantly
piqued her interest. She did not recall our chance encounter twelve years
before, but felt a knowing inside of her, that this could be a relationship
that might work. As she went to prayer, God started telling her that she
and I would be good friends. Whenever I would go to God in prayer, He told
me that Bonnie and I would be good friends.
I decided to take the first step. I got Bonnie's phone number and gave her
a call. We had a great conversation and set up a visit. It has been a match
made in heaven.
The day finally arrived when Bonnie came to my door. She visits me
regularly now and we pray, Bible study, and watch girl movies together. It
is as if we were kindred spirits all along.
Since that day we are not only good friends, but are now relatives through
marriage. What a plan God had all along some twelve years ago, to reunite
two people at a time when they needed it most.
Shortly thereafter, I received a second response to this much sought after
request, when I was given the name of a friend's friend, to add to my
writing ministry list. As I would send her writings, she sent back
responses, telling me how they moved her. Before you knew it we became pen
pals. What an exciting time it was, making new friends!
As my writing gift started to grow, I felt the need for the friendship of
another writer. I needed someone that understood writing. Another that I
could bounce issues or ideas off of. My other friends were very supportive,
but I needed someone to share with who had a personal understanding. After
all, when I was a nurse I had several nursing friends.
So I continued on in my prayer...this time for a specific kind of friend.
A short while ago the answer came to this request, as I came across the
book of another devotional writer. I was reading some stories off of a
favorite website and was fascinated by the information about this author.
I was intrigued by the name of her book, “Celebrate Life” and the fact that
she too, was a devotional writer. Something inside of me felt the need to
order her book. I placed the order within the next few days. As I was
putting the order information in the envelope, there came a thought, “Why
not send her a few writings of your own?” So I did.
About two weeks later her book arrived with a note thanking me for my
writings, and an invitation to e-mail her. I excitingly accepted the
invitation and after two or more e-mails I knew our friendship had begun. I
felt this confirmed when just after reading her e-mail response to me, I
looked at my calendar and saw a Big Daisy (which was part of her online name).
God had a plan ready to answer my prayer for new friendships, even though
my circumstance made it seem utterly IMPOSSIBLE!
I continue to marvel how He answered my prayer not once, but three times,
as I recorded it in my journal...“Lord, send me a friend.”
“What I have planned that I will do.” Isaiah 46:11
By Annettee Budzban
Read and meditate on these scriptures:
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 “...Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have
entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them
that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the
Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.”
Joshua 1:9 “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be
not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee
whithersoever thou goest.”
Psalm 28:6-8 “Blessed be the LORD, because He hath heard the voice of my
supplications. The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in
Him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my
song will I praise Him. The LORD is their strength, and He is the saving
strength of His anointed.”
Psalm 37:3-6 “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the
land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and
He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the
LORD; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass. And He shall bring
forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.”
All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible.
Today’s Selected Poem: PRAYERS
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/inpoem65.htm
Today’s Selected Testimony: MY GOD IS AWESOME
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony3.htm
In Christ’s Service,
Dwayne Savaya
God’s Work Ministry |
